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Literature Reviews |
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Sweet Action: Porn for Girls
$8 on newsstands
Even their masthead is hot
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The title says it all, but this is no dim-witted “Cosmo,” “Playgirl,” or some other nudie magazine disguising itself for women, when it’s really intended for men. Though I do think gay men will get a kick out of the article, “How to Eat Man Ass.” “Sweet Action,” which made its debut in February of this year, is its own unique animal—porn for the sexually adventurous girl next door. Touted as a magazine “for women who love men,” “Sweet Action” serves as a forum for women who want to feel comfortable with their own sexuality. This glossy publication not only accomplishes this, but does so in a ballsy, boisterous and humorous way. In the article, “How to Give a Hand Job,” the author rounded up test subjects (willing man friends) and literally put her hand to the test, drumming up as much useful and amusing information as she could muster. |
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The magazine also features interviews with hip, sexy men like New York graffiti artist Seen and Eugene Hutz from Gogol Bordello. The slick, color layout of butt naked men is both tasteful and bold. “Sweet Action” publishers, Robin Adams (Seattle sister Diana Adams of Aftermath Gallery is the West Coast connection) and Micole Taggard ponder in their Letter From the Editors whether women are actually ready to buy porn. They don’t seem to know and they really don’t care. However, it is apparent that these girls just want to have fun.. —Karla Esquivel
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Johnny Was
Greg Wharton, Suspect Thoughts Press, $16.95
Wharton is a naughty man with a witty tongue. His collection of stories ranges from hot, steamy stories to even hotter, sexier stories. But lest you think this collection of tales is only aimed at the one-hand reader’s list, Wharton deftly and astutely skews the sacred cows of queer life with aplomb. A great read from start to finish. —De Kwok
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Beautiful/Decay
Feral Children Productions, $5, beautifuldecay.com
This full-sized, full color magazine (and its online counterpart), still in its relative infancy, consistently showcases the best, brightest and most cutting edge talents in the worlds of graffiti writing, graphic design, guerrilla postering and billboard art. The current issue, “Punk & Disorderly,” highlights artwork from Barf Comics and early-80s punk rock flyers, as well as the distinctive style of street artist L’Atlas who uses an adapted form of Arabic calligraphy in his murals and billboard pieces. It’s heavy on graphics and light on text, making it perfect for browsing… again and again and again. —Kristopher Monroe |
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Voice of the Fire
Alan Moore, Top Shelf, hardcover, $26.95
(First US publication, originally published in the UK in 1996.)
This breathtaking prose work is Alan Moore’s love letter to the place that made him. His customary pop culture pyrotechnics ignite a blazing November bonfire leaping for his, and our, delight.
In “From Hell,” Moore dug deeply into forbidden and speculative traditions of thought and magick. He dazzled us with the audacious conclusion that the Ripper’s grisly work was an incantation to guarantee the arrival of our own age of steel monoliths. Here, his musical, rhythmic prose posits that the ancient acts of those who die in his hometown affect and shape the contemporary reality of his life and those of the town’s less literary inhabitants. He presents himself as bound to the place from which he writes by blood spilled and inherited. It’s a grand vision, a cathedral of the soul. Furthermore, he presents this idea as holographic, as a fragment of the larger mosaic of human life, each chip of glass containing the locale-specific reflections of this idea.
Each reader, I understood him to suggest, contains the depths that he’s been granted the chance to delineate in this specific instance. It’s a breathtaking vision that incorporates cosmic scope and microscopic detail, psychedelic in its intensit—Mike Whybark
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Belly Button Comix
Sophie Crumb, Fantagraphics, $4.95
Ms. Crumb’s initial published foray into comics is an interesting mix of practiced expertise and green experimentation. She approaches matters of love and sex generally with a raw take. At times her style shows the clear influence of parents Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb. I enjoyed Ms. Crumb’s slice-of-life vignettes – idling and bickering with pals, meeting a beau · la “AmËlie” via anonymous notes – more than the silly/shocking material, but it all has the unmistakable zip and vigor of her dad’s early work. Given that her drawing shows evidence of close tutoring by one of pen-and-ink’s greatest craftsmen, her work bears watching. —MW
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The Nervous Tourist
Bob Gaulke, Future Tense Books, $5
Leaving behind rainy Portland, Bob Gaulke travels to live in Salvador, Bahia and Brazil. He brings back stories of real life among the people in South America. Particularly interesting is his visit to carnivale and his conversation with a young Brazilian. Another winning book from the fine folks at Future Tense Books. —DK
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6 is 9
PO Box 9591, Seattle, WA 98109, $5
“6 is 9” is the print version of the online journal, Jaguaro.org. Some of the highlights of this issue are an interesting analysis of the films of Matthew Barney’s “Cremaster” series, the history of dentists in the silver screen and a list of albums everyone should have in their CD collections. A good rainy day read. —DK
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